Toothbrush holder



. Jan. 14, 1947.

R. c. KULLING ,4 TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER I K Filed May 19, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENITOR. #000129 a #04 1/4 6 Patented Jan. 14, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER Rudolph C. Kulling, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 19, 1945, Serial No. 594,738

1 This invention relates to a tooth brush holder and it is one object of the invention to provide a device of this character in the form of a shelf consisting of upper and lower trays and standards for maintaining the trays in vertical spaced relation to each other, the lower tray being adapted to hold a number of tooth brushes and the upper tray serving as a canopy for preventing dust from settling upon brushes carried by the lower tray and also serving as a holder for tubes of tooth paste, drinking lasses, and the like.

Another object of the invention is. to provide a device of this character having the form of a shelf provided with posts or standards so formed that their upper and lower ends will be firmly but detachably engaged with the upper and lower trays, the elements of the shelf being sold in knockdown condition and capable of being very easily assembled by the purchaser and secured against a wall by screws passed through the standards.

Another object of the invention is to provide standards including inserts which, when fitted into the standards, will very effectively hold the standards and the trays in interlocked engagement with each other.

Another object of the invention is to rovide a knock-down shelf having trays and standards formed of sheet metal, the standards carrying inserts shaped to fit snugly in the standards and serving very effectively to hold the trays and the standards interlocked as well as preventing them from shifting vertically relative to each other and also preventing the trays from tilting forwardly out of a horizontal position.

Another object of the invention is to permit the knocked down shelf to be easily taken apart if it is desired to discontinue use of the same and reduce it to a small compact mass.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the improved tooth brush holding shelf.

Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken horizontally along line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken along line l-4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a rear view of the improved tooth brush holding shelf.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken transversely through one of the standards along line 'l-l' of Figure 6.

6 Claims. (Cl. 211-65) Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the upper and lower trays and one standard.

Figure 9 is a perspective View looking at the outer face of one filler for one standard.

Figure 10 is a perspective view looking at the inner face of the filler.

This improved tooth brush holder is in the form of a knock-down shelf having upper and lower trays l and 2, formed of sheet metal, and

10 standards 3 which are also formed of sheet metal and filled by fillers 4 which fit snugly in the standards and may be formed of composition or other suitable material. The lower tray has a flat upper surface and along itsfront edge and ends is formed with a depending flange 5 having portions 6 extending along margins ofrecesses or sockets 1. These sockets have reduced entrances so that the handles of tooth brushes 8 may be thrust int-o the sockets and the brushes supzoported in suspended relation to the lower tray,

as shown in Figure 4. The tooth brushes may thus be readily applied to or removed from the lower tray and when applied to this tray they wil1 be suspended near the front edge thereof 2"5*and quickly dry. The upper tray is of greater dimensions than the lower tray andprojects forwardly beyond the same so that it overhangs the lower tray and serves very effectively as a canopy for preventing dust or other dirt from collecting upon brushes suspended from the lower tray.

form upstanding flanges l2.

402shown in Figure 6. The upper shelf is also formed with rearwardly projecting extensions M at its ends and these extensions are formed with slots 15 defining tongues l6 terminating in depending flanges IT at their rear ends. The

tongues l6 fit snugly in upper portions of the standards in flat face to face-enga'gement-with the upper end walls I8 of the standards and their flanges ll bear against the standards. After the standards have been applied to the upper and lower trays the fillers 4 are set in place within ards and their openings l 9 will be held in registry 3 with openings 20 in the standards so that screws 2! may be readily passed through the registering openings and into a wall to firmly secure the shelf fiat against the wall. Upper and lower ends of the fillers have their inner faces formed with recesses 22 to accommodate the flanges I2 and ll of the shelves 2 and l and when the screws are tightened the fillers will be held in gripping engagement with the flanges and their outer faces will be flush with the end walls and the side walls 23 of the standards. Since the fillers conform to the outline of the standards and fit snugly therein the outer side walls of the standards will be held in the slots iii and i5 and the tongues H and I6 and their flange l2 and H held flat against confronting surfaces of the standards and tilting of the standards and the two trays will be very effectively prevented and the trays held in true horizontal positions when the standards are secured against a wall. Therefore tooth paste tubes and the like may be placed upon the lower tray without rolling off and if a; water glass is set upon the upper tray it will not slide off the tray and be broken by dropping to the floor. The flange 5 and 24 formed along marginal edgesof the trays serve as reinforcements and. prevent them from being bent out of a flat, horizontal position. When it is desired'to transfer the device to another location it is merely necessary to remove the screws and the device may be immediately remounted in the new' location or taken apart and packed in a small flat box or the like and put away in a small space until its use is again desired. As it i initially packed in a small flat box a large number may be stacked upon a shelf in a store and sold in knocked down condition for assembly by the purchaser.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a lower shelf having brush-holding means about its margins; an upper shelf, said shelves having rearwardly extending tongues bent to form flanges across their rear ends, uprights formed with. walls along their sides and upper and lower ends, the-tongues of said shelves fitting into ends of. said uprights with their flanges fitting fiat against the uprights and extending towards each other, fillers fitting snugly in said uprights with their edge faces abutting walls of theuprights and upper and lower ends of their inner faces formed with recesses into which the flanges of the'tongues fit, and fasteners for passing through aligned openings in the uprights and the fillers and serving to secure the uprights against a support and detachably securin the fillers in the uprights with their upper and lower ends in gripping engagement with the flanges.

2. A device of the character described comprising a lower shelf having rearwardly extending tongues formed with upstanding flanges across. their rear ends, an upper shelf having rearwardly extending tongues formed with depending fianges acrosstheir rear ends, uprights having forwardly projecting walls along their'side edges and upper and lower ends, said tongues being fitted into upper and lower ends of said uprights, and fillers fitting in said'uprights with their upper and lower ends overlapping and bearing against said flanges to firmly hold the tongues in the uprights and prevent movement of the uprights and the shelves relative to each other.

3. A device of the character described comprising upper and lower shelves provided with rearwardly extending tongues, the tongues of the upper shelf having depending fianges and the tongues of the lower shelf having upstanding flanges, uprights extending vertically between said shelves and having forwardly projecting margina1 walls, said tongues fitting within upper and lower portions of said uprights and having engagement with walls thereof, and fillers fittin snugly within said uprights and bearing against the flanges of the tongues to firmly hold the tongues in engagement with the uprights and prevent movement of the shelves relative to the uprights.

4. A device of the character described comprising upper and lower shelves provided with rearwardly extending tongues, the tongues of the upper shelf having depending flanges and the tongues of the lower shelf having upstanding flanges, uprights extending vertically between said. shelves and having forwardly projecting marginal walls, said tongues being engaged in the uprights, fillers removably fitting within said uprights and overlapping the flanges of the tongues, and fasteners passing through the fillers and the uprights for securing the uprights to a support and firmly holding the fillers in the uprights in clamping engagement with the flanged. tongues.

5. A device of the character described comprising upper and lower shelves; the upper shelf having its rear portion provided with depending flanges and the lower shelf having its rear portion provided with upstanding flanges, uprights formed separate from said shelves and provided with forwardly projecting marginal walls, the uprights being disposed vertically between the shelves and having their upper and lower ends in interfittin engagement with the shelves, and fillers removably secured in said uprights and having engagement with portions of the shelves to hold the shelves in interlocked engagement with the uprights.

6. A device of the character described comprising upper and lower shelves, the upper shelf having its rear'portio-n provided with depending flanges and the lower shelf having its rear portion provided with upstanding flanges, uprights formedseparate from said shelvesand provided with forwardly projecting marginal walls, the uprights being disposed vertically between the shelves and having their upper'a-nd lower ends in interfitting engagement with the shelves, and fillers carried by said uprights and constituting means for holding the shelves to the uprights and preventing movement of the shelves relative to the uprights.

RUDOLPH C. KULLING. 

